When best friends and West Palm Beach natives Jaime Barker (left) and Megan Balch announced they were naming their line of posh swimwear after a popular beach in Palm Beach, they were met with a sea of blank stares. For those who weren’t raised in South Florida, the designers explain, the name has little meaning. Luckily, their debut collection (think über-gorgeous swimsuits and elegant cover-ups) required no interpretation. The talented 26-year-olds, whose designs won rave reviews at this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim, show no signs of stopping. They’ve wrapped up their Resort ’14 and Summer ’15 collections, launched an e-commerce destination site and set their sights on men’s and children’s swimwear.

First designer item: Barker: “A Donna Karan Collection dress from a sample sale.” Balch: “A Chloé dress for prom that I still wear.”

Childhood secrets their mothers might share (but they never would): “I used to run around outside with Waterbabies dolls in nothing but my underpants,” Barker says. “I wore slap bracelets around my neck and pretended they were chokers,” Balch confesses.

Advice for budding designers: Get an internship and become a big sponge. Take all the free insight you receive, and recognize opportunity from others.